Money for Jets and Billion-Dollar Corporations, Yes. Teachers, No.

The Governor's office announced yesterday another corporate welfare handout to a multi-billion dollar corporation. This is your tax dollars being spent to bribe a manufacturing giant to "create jobs" here in NC. (I'll leave aside for now the economic truism that government can not "create" jobs)

So as the Gov. flies around the state on her tax-financed jet for her Taxapalooza tour to make the case that only massive tax hikes can "save teachers," she also finds time to dole out even more of your tax money to bribe a company that enjoys higher profit margins than evil big oil villain Exxon Mobil.

According to their annual report, Baldor Electric Co. earned a profit margin of roughly 12.5% in 2008. But remember in 2008 how big oil companies such as Exxon Mobil were the targets of countless calls for a "windfall profits" tax because of their obscene profits? According to this CNN report, Exxon's profit margin in 2008 was roughly 9% – more than 3 percentage points lower than Baldor Electric.

So we have money to bribe corporations earning profit margins even more "obscene" than Exxon Mobil, but no money for teachers?

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